The Angel in Bobby's Life
by DejaBlue1972
Summary: BobbyOC. The follow up sequel to "Bobby's Angel." The ongoing story of our favorite MCS detective and his new lady love, Angelica Pierson-St. John. This story is rated M for language and eventual adult situations. Read and enjoy.


**Author's Notes: Happy New Year, everyone! As promised (finally), here's the sequel to "Bobby's Angel." In this story, you'll get to meet Angel's family, have some old faces come back, answer some burning questions that were left answered in the previous story (i.e. Will Angel be pregnant) and whatever else I can think of. Remember, this story takes place during Season 6. As always, I would like to say thank you to everyone who takes the time to read and/or review my stories. I am very grateful and appreciative of the support. LO:CI and its characters belong to Dick Wolf and company. I'm just taking them for a spin in my imagination. Any and all mistakes made are my own. Read, review and enjoy. :o) **

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Tuesday, September 5  
Carmel Ridge Institution  
Parking Lot, 8:00 a.m.

Detective Robert Goren, better known as Bobby to his family and close friends, parked his black 1966 Ford Mustang convertible in the first spot he saw in the institution's parking lot. He let out a heavy sigh as he turned off the car's engine. He just sat there, deeply inhaling and exhaling as he mentally prepared himself to walk into his mother's room. Today he was picking Frances up to take her for her annual physical exam. And knowing his mother like he did, Bobby knew she'd put up a big fuss.

Bobby turned his head at the soft tapping on the driver's side window. _"Good thing I called in reinforcements," _he thought to himself as he smiled at the older woman who was standing next to the car, waving at him. She stepped back as he opened his door and stepped out of the car. He locked and closed the door before turning around and saying, "Hi, Doreen. Thanks for coming."

Doreen Reed was Frances Goren's first cousin, younger than her by 2 years. She was slim and petite just like Frances, with light colored hair that was sprinkled with some gray and hazel eyes. "Hi, sweetheart," she said as she reached out and gave Bobby a hug. He hugged her back. She gave him a light peck on his stubbly cheek before stepping back to look up at him with a smile.

* * *

"You look good," Doreen said. "Thanks. So do you," Bobby replied. He winced slightly when she patted him lightly on the chest. It had been almost 2 full weeks since Frank James Devlin a.k.a. Frankie Devil had shot Bobby in the chest while he was wearing his bulletproof vest. He still felt a little bit of pain and had some bruising. Doreen narrowed her eyes at him and grunted. "Hmmph!" Bobby sighed heavily. "Please don't start, Doreen. I'm okay," he said. She raised an eyebrow as she folded her arms over her chest.

Bobby gave Doreen his best pitiful puppy dog look. He hadn't even told Frances that he had been injured. When Doreen found out from watching the news that Bobby was one of the police officers that had been hurt during the hostage situation at Hudson Medical Center, she and her husband Cal rushed over to the hospital in full panic mode, assuming the worst. After a few minutes of silence, she let out a wry chuckle as she took him by the arm and led him towards the building. "We'll talk later," she said. Bobby patted her hand and smiled.

When Bobby and Doreen reached Frances' room, they found her standing toe to toe with 2 nurses. They stood in the doorway and watched the scene unfold before their eyes. "I am NOT going anywhere! And I refuse to wear THAT!" she said forcefully, pointing at the dress that was Carmella Newton's hand. Nurse Newton, the older of the 2 nurses, took a deep breath and counted to 10 silently in her head before releasing it. "Please calm down, Mrs. Goren," she said in her most calming and reassuring voice. "Dr. Walker is just trying to make sure your health is okay," Nurse Frieda McConnell said.

* * *

Frances pointed her index finger at Nurse Newton. "Stop telling me to calm down! I am calm," she said. Then she pointed at Nurse McConnell. "Don't talk to me in that condescending manner! I'm not an idiot!" "Good grief," Bobby muttered quietly under his breath as he walked into the room. _"If she were a suspect instead of my mother, I'd have her in handcuffs by now," _he thought to himself. Doreen followed behind him. "Hey, Ma," he said. Frances turned her attention towards Bobby. She shook her finger at him. "Bobby, tell them that I'm not going anywhere and to get out of my room," she said.

Bobby looked at Frances for a few seconds, noticing that she appeared to be thinner than she normally was. "Mom, these nice nurses are just trying to help you get ready for your appointment with Dr. Walker," he said. "Oh! So now you're taking their side?!" Frances snapped. He massaged the back of his neck as he said, "No, Ma. I'm not taking their side. I'm not taking anybody's side." Doreen held out her hand to Nurse Newton. "I'll take the dress. We can handle everything from here," she said softly with a smile.

Nurse Newton returned Doreen's smile as she handed her the dress. "Let's go, Frieda," she said, shooing the younger nurse out of the room. When the door had closed, Doreen turned and looked at Frances. "They're gone now. You happy?" she asked. "Yes. Thank you." Frances had a small sneer on her face. She narrowed her eyes as she looked Bobby up and down before she walked off to sit down in the chair that was in front of the window. He sighed and threw up his hands.

"Mom, it's important that you go and see Dr. Walker," Bobby said. "He's concerned about the weight you've lost and that you're not eating properly." "Big deal," Frances said. "So, I've lost a couple of pounds and haven't felt like eating much. Big deal! I'm NOT going. That's final!" He exhaled loudly. "Ma, it IS a big deal!" She gave him a stony stare. Bobby could feel himself getting angry and ready to raise his voice. Doreen placed her hand on his arm, giving him a reassuring squeeze. He looked down at her and smiled. "Let me talk to her," she said quietly.

* * *

Doreen patted Bobby on the back before she went over to where Frances was sitting. She gave her the same stony stare she had given to her son. "I'm not going anywhere," she said. Doreen pursed her lips with a smirk as she looked at her cousin. "Hmmph!" she grunted. "Don't 'hmmph' me, Doreen Reed. I'm older and more stubborn than you." Doreen didn't say anything. Instead, she leaned forward, placing her hands on the chair's arms. In her most sweet and loving voice, she said, "Frances, you're my 2nd favorite cousin next to Bobby and I love you a lot. So, I'm going to say something to you that he has way too much class and control to say." "What would that be?" "Stop being a pain in the ass and let's go see Dr. Walker to make sure there's nothing physically wrong with you."

Bobby ducked his head, hiding a smile behind his hand. Doreen straightened up while Frances looked at her in awe. She said, "You were never this bossy when we were growing up. Anyway, I'm still not going anywhere." Doreen took a small step back. She raised an eyebrow and held out the dress to her cousin. "Frances, please quit being so stubborn and get dressed." Frances folded her arms across her chest and stared at her defiantly. "I'm not going," she repeated.

Doreen took a deep breath, released it and said, "Frances Goren, you have 2 choices. You either get dressed and walk out of here on your own 2 feet or I'll have Bobby throw you over his shoulder and carry you out of here kicking and screaming." Frances looked at Bobby, who in turn looked back at her. "You would do that, wouldn't you?" she asked him sarcastically. He just nodded. After a few minutes of silence, she sighed in defeat. "Fine. I'll go," she said through clenched teeth.

"Thank you," Doreen said. She turned to look at Bobby and said, "We'll be ready in 20." He nodded, then smiled. "Thank you," he silently mouthed. Doreen gave him a wink before turning her attention back to Frances. Bobby walked out of the room to wait, grateful to have Doreen's help.

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Tuesday, September 5  
Office of Dr. Edmond Walker, 10:15 a.m.

"Mr. Goren," a female voice said. Bobby looked up from the magazine he was reading. He smiled at the slim, auburn haired nurse that was standing in front of him. "Dr. Walker is finished with your mother's examination. You can come on back and talk to him." "Thank you, Monica," Bobby said as he stood up and laid the magazine on the table. He had stayed in the waiting area while Doreen went with Frances. He followed Monica through the door leading to the examination rooms. He thanked her again and walked into Exam Room 1.

Frances was sitting down in a chair when Bobby walked into the room. Doreen was standing behind the chair with her hands on Frances' shoulders. Dr. Walker was also sitting down, making some notes in his patient's file. He stood up and shook Bobby's hand. "Good to see you, Mr. Goren." "Thank you, Dr. Walker. Same here." Dr. Walker pointed at the empty chair next to Frances. "Have a seat." Bobby looked at Doreen and said, "You sit down. I'll stand." She shook her head as she patted the empty chair. "I'd rather stand. Have a seat, sweetheart."

Bobby did as he was told, sitting down in the empty chair next to Frances. She had been quiet the whole entire time, staring off into space. He saw her jaw line twitching slightly and her hands balled up into tiny fists. He reached out hesitantly to hold her hands, but then he pulled back, unsure of whether or not his gesture of kindness and support would set off a furious attack of hands and feet. He turned his attention to Dr. Walker instead.

* * *

"Everything with your mother's health checks out okay so far, Mr. Goren," Dr. Walker said. "Her 15 pound weight loss over the past 2 months and the swollen nymph nodes in her neck are my main concerns at this point. I've taken a couple of tissue samples and am sending them to the lab for analysis." "When…when will you know something?" Bobby asked. "Hopefully within 2 to 3 days." "What do you think is wrong with Frances, Doctor?" Doreen asked. Dr. Walker gave her his best reassuring smile. "Mrs. Reed, I won't know anything for certain until the lab results come back. If the results come back inconclusive, then I'll schedule Mrs. Goren for a simple biopsy procedure. She'll be in and out on the same day."

Frances scoffed, the first noise she had made since Bobby had come into the room. "I'm tired of all of these damn tests! I'm fine!" Doreen felt her become tense underneath her hands. She slowly massaged her shoulders. "Frances, please let Dr. Walker do his job to find out what's wrong," she said softly. Frances scoffed again. "Just take me back to my room at the nuthouse!" Bobby and Dr. Walker both stood up and shook hands again. "I'll have Monica call you as soon as we know something." "Thank you, Doctor." Dr. Walker nodded his head at Doreen before walking out of the door.

"I'll go get the car," Bobby said once he, Doreen and Frances were in the hallway outside of Dr. Walker's office. Doreen reached inside of her purse, pulling out the keys to her 1996 Cutlass Supreme. A small smile graced her lips as she handed him the keys. "M-M-Mom, is…is there someplace special you'd like to go for lunch?" Bobby asked. Frances looked at him in silence, a hint of anger in her eyes. "Take me back to my room," she said. "Okay," he said, feeling thoroughly chided by the tone of her voice. With 2 quick and long steps, Bobby was out of their sight.

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Tuesday, September 5  
Carmel Ridge Institution, 11:37 a.m.

After getting Frances settled back into her room at Carmel Ridge, Doreen and Bobby walked out of the building, heading towards the parking lot. Doreen had offered to spend the rest of the day with her, but Frances just gave her the cold shoulder, telling her and Bobby to get out of her sight. She laid down on her side with her back towards them, letting them know she was done talking.

Doreen wrapped her arm around the crook of Bobby's arm as they were walking. "You're mighty quiet," she said. He let out a dry chuckle. "Just doing some thinking," he replied. "What's bothering you, sweetie?" He shrugged. "Nothing really." "Ha! Your "nothing" is usually something, Bobby. Tell me what's bothering you." Bobby stopped in front of the entrance doors. A heavy sigh escaped his lips as he looked down at Doreen. "You think Ma has cancer, don't you?" he asked.

"I'm not sure what I think at this point, Bobby," Doreen answered. She reached up and stroked his cheek. "It's possible. We've had some family members die because of it." He hung his head low and shook it. "I knew it," he said softly. She took both his hands in hers. "Look at me, Bobby." He raised his head enough to look Doreen in the eye. "Whatever happens with Frances, I want you to know that I'll be around to help you as best as I can. Don't get yourself worked up yet until you hear something from the doctor. Okay?"

A small lopsided smile crossed Bobby's lips. He gave her hug and said, "Thanks, Doreen." "You're welcome," she said as she stepped back to look up at him. They started walking again out of the building. "You have to go back to work now?" she asked. He shook his head, saying, "No. I took the day off." "Good. You can follow me to the restaurant for lunch. Cheryl and Trey are dying to see you."

Bobby held the driver's side door of Doreen's car open for her. Before she had a chance to sit down, he said, "Uh, is it okay if we make a quick stop on our way to the restaurant? There's someone I want to pick up to have lunch with us." "Sure. Who is it?" Bobby ducked his head. "S-s-someone special." Doreen raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Someone special? How special is she, Bobby?" He fidgeted a little before looking his cousin in the eye. "Settle-down-and-start-a family-with-if-she'll-have-me special." She patted his hand and smiled. "I'll follow you."

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Tuesday, September 5  
Computer City, 12:05 p.m.

Bobby opened the door and stood to the side to let Doreen enter the building first. He followed in after her. The shop was busy with customers milling about looking at the in-store specials. A tall and lanky young man with strawberry blonde hair walked up to them. "Welcome to Computer City. Can I help you folks with anything?" he asked. His nametag read "Chad Riggins Store Manager." "No, thank you," Bobby said. "We're just looking right now." "Okay. My name's Chad if you need some help." "Uh, thanks, Chad. We will." Chad nodded and walked off to the next set of customers that had come through the door.

Doreen looked around the shop at the various people who she thought might work there. "Which one is she, Bobby?" she asked. "There she is," he replied, pointing at a pretty African-American woman with caramel colored skin and shoulder length brown hair. She was surrounded by 3 young women who were all dressed alike in matching Chi Omega t-shirts and jeans. She was showing them various features on a laptop that was on the counter in front of them.

"Her name's Angel," Bobby said. "She's very pretty, " Doreen said. Angel looked up and smiled when she saw Bobby. She motioned for Chad to come and take over. "Hey, Handsome," Angel said when she reached where Doreen and Bobby were standing. She was dressed in a blue two-toned long sleeve t-shirt, dark blue denim jeans and white tennis shoes. "Hey, Beautiful," he replied as he kissed her forehead. "What are you doing here? I thought you were taking your mama to the doctor." "I-I-I got that done already. I came by to take you to lunch."

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Bobby pointed nervously at Doreen. He said, "Um, this is my cousin, Doreen Reed. Uh, Doreen. This…this is Angelica Pierson-St. John." A look of surprise and nervousness flitted briefly across Angel's face as she and Doreen shook hands. "Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Reed," she said. Doreen chuckled lightly. "Call me Doreen, Angel. I only make Bobby's female friends call me 'Mrs. Reed' if I don't like them." Angel laughed while Bobby blushed and quietly uttered "Oh, God."

Bobby cast a sideways glance at Doreen, then he rolled his eyes. "Don't be like that, Bobby," she said with a laugh, nudging him in the side with her elbow. He looked at Angel and asked, "Can you leave now?" She nodded. "Yeah. Just let me get my purse and jacket and tell Chad that I'm leaving," she said. Bobby kissed Angel's forehead again. "I'll wait for you outside," he said. She looked at him and smiled. "Okay," she said.

"Well, I'm going to head onto the restaurant. I'll see you two there," Doreen said. She gave Angel a quick hug and said, "I'm glad to meet you." She blushed as she quickly glanced at the ground. "Same here, Doreen." Angel gave Bobby a quick kiss on the lips before she headed towards her office in the back of the building while he followed Doreen out the door.

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Tuesday, September 5  
Inside of Bobby's Mustang, 12:40 p.m.

"You just couldn't give me any kind of warning, could you?" Angel asked Bobby. They were inside of his Mustang, about 5 minutes away from the restaurant Doreen and Cal owned. Bobby looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "What are you talking about?" he asked. She let out a heavy sigh as she turned her head to look out the window. She moved the locket that was on her necklace up and down its chain. "Nothing," she said softly. It was Bobby's turn to sigh. "You're mad at me for inviting you to have lunch with me and my cousins?"

Angel looked at Bobby. "I'm not mad at you," she said. "You seem to forget that I get nervous meeting new people. Especially when it's your family." Bobby chuckled lightly. "You're getting nervous for no reason. They'll love you," he said. She shook her head. "Tell that to the butterflies in my stomach." He reached over and put his hand on her stomach and said, "Leave, butterflies. Angel doesn't need to be nervous." She swatted at his hand. "You are not funny, Bobby Goren." His infectious laugh made Angel smile despite her nervousness.

A comfortable silence fell over the happy couple. "I'm sorry," Bobby said quietly. A confused look spread over Angel's face. "What are you apologizing for?" she asked. "For-for not being around much lately. I've been trying to get this case against Frank Devlin settled once and for all." She reached out and squeezed his hand. "It's okay. I understand." "Have you been to see the psychiatrist that Victim Services recommended?" "Just once since I got out of the hospital. I have another appointment tomorrow afternoon."

* * *

Bobby parked the car, turning off its engine. He turned his whole body towards Angel; she did the same thing. They looked into each other's eyes and smiled. "I have the whole day off," he said. "Maybe you can come and spend the night with me. I'd like the company." "Cool. I can do that," she replied. She reached over and put her hand over his heart. He winced a little in pain. "Your chest still hurt?" Bobby nodded. "The doctor said the bruises and pain will go away eventually."

Angel withdrew her hand. She hung her head down, wringing her hands together. A couple of tears hit the back of her hands. "It's my fault that you're hurt," she said softly. "It's not your fault that that crazy son of a bitch shot me," Bobby said. She shook her head. "I should have tried harder to get away from Devlin." He put his finger under Angel's chin, raising her head to make her look at him. "Trying to get away from Devlin would have gotten you killed. If-if-if that had happened, my world and my life would have been turned completely upside down. I don't think that…my heart could have handled that."

Bobby caressed Angel's cheek as he stared into her gray eyes. "Te amo con todo mi corazón, querida," he said. "You know that, right?" She smiled and nodded. "Si. Yo se," she answered. He put his arms around her as she leaned forward, placing her forehead against his. "You okay?" he asked. Angel nodded, pulling back a little so that she could see his face. "I love you, Bobby."

Bobby smiled, then kissed Angel before getting out of the car. He walked around to the passenger side, opening the door for her. She got out and stood off to the side as he closed the door. He held out his hand and said with a smile, "You ready?" She inhaled and exhaled deeply as she took a hold of his hand. She gave him a nervous smile and nodded. "Ready," she said. A confident smile spread over Bobby's face as he took his Angel by hand and led her across the street to where his family was waiting for them.


End file.
